


The NYADA Masquerade Ball

by vcg73



Category: Glee
Genre: Halloween, Kurt needed more fun and romance, M/M, Romance, Tumblr: kurtoberfest, kadam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 22:03:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16463174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vcg73/pseuds/vcg73
Summary: Kurt finally gets to spend Halloween the way he wants to, and unexpectedly runs into an old friend.





	The NYADA Masquerade Ball

The Halloween Masquerade was the first major social event of the season at NYADA. There were plenty of student mixers and club gatherings at the start of a new school year, but the Masquerade Ball at the end of October was the first formal. The entire student body was invited, along with faculty, alumni, and significant others. The event required an RSVP, tickets, formal-wear, and a mask to conceal one’s identity.

That was part of the fun. Looking at someone’s disguise and trying to figure out who they were before the big reveal at midnight. In most cases that was easy. Some people were just so distinctive that it was impossible for them to hide behind a simple disguise of feathers and jewels.

Kurt suspected his own identity would not stay a secret for long. He had always been one to stand out in a crowd, and now that he was in his third year at school, he had found his niche and along the way had somehow become very popular with other students. He was even looked upon kindly by the professors, who appreciated his hard work and unflagging spirit when it came to mastering difficult lessons. 

For all the events he had been part of as either a participant or a guest, however, he had never attended the Masquerade Ball.

Freshman year, the event had been long over by the time Kurt started his late enrollment, though he had heard all about it from Rachel Berry. She had gone with a couple of other Freshmen who just wanted to see what the fuss was about, and she had made it sound so marvelous and romantic that Kurt had instantly been filled with longing to see it for himself.

The following year he had been engaged to Blaine, who took one look at the flyer announcing the event and announced that it sounded “stupid”. Blaine had rolled his eyes and scoffed at the notion of getting all dressed up in some fancy suit, with a silly mask on his face. Why put up with a lot of formal dancing and stodgy faculty-approved entertainment, when they could instead dress up like superheroes or rock stars, and go to the big party at Callbacks bar for some “actual fun”.

Kurt had quietly put away his hopes for attending the Ball. He did not want to have to beg for a partner, to make a beautiful outfit that Blaine would not appreciate, and stand in a corner all night hoping in vain to be asked for just one dance by his partner. In short, he did not want a repeat of Junior Prom at McKinley. He had instead agreed to be Green Lantern to Blaine’s Superman and they had gone to Callbacks. And he had stood in a corner anyway, nursing a drink, watching his fiance mingle and domineer the karaoke stage. He had then spent half the night defending himself from drunken accusations of ‘leading guys on’, just because other attendees had found the shimmery, silver-threaded, green spandex costume that Kurt had made, modeled after the Ryan Reynolds movie, to be hotter than Blaine’s blue and red fleece rental. 

Hearing his fellow students talk about the Ball all the following week at school after he had had such a miserable holiday himself had been a unique kind of torture. So this year, Kurt was finally going to spend Halloween the way _he_ wanted to. He was going to the Masquerade Ball, and no one was going to stop him or spoil it for him. Blaine was gone, their engagement broken and his tenure as a NYADA student revoked by the Dean. Rachel had quit school and gone off to California chasing dreams of Hollywood stardom. 

The Kurt Hummel of old would have shied away from attending a formal without a date, but this year he felt differently. For the first time since his breakup, he did not find his single status sad or pitiful. It would be nice not having to worry about disapproval or conflicting ideas of fun. He would make the outfit he had dreamed of, go to the Ball, and spend time with anyone he liked. He would ask other people to dance, not just wait around in the hope that someone would ask him. He would make this a night that he could always look back on and remember with fondness.

~*~*~*~*~*~

For two weeks, Kurt worked on his costume. He knew from bits of conversation around school that he would not be the only person putting his all into this, and that fact thrilled him. It would be nice not to be the only person who appreciated a special dress occasion. 

On the night of the Ball, he stood before his full-length mirror and preened with pleasure. He had created a suit appropriate to Colonial America, feeling that it would be appropriately theatrical for a party being held on Staten Island. The suit was made from a bolt of gorgeous blood-red velvet that he had found in a little dry goods shop in Chinatown, decorated with hand-knit gold trim at the cuffs, hems and lapels. It even had vintage buttons picked up from an antique store in Greenwich Village. He had sewn a long frock-coat with tight knee breeches from the red velvet and accented it with a black brocade waistcoat, a snowy white shirt with a jabot of heavy lace at the neck, and white stockings. He liked those stockings, and the shining black-heeled shoes that he had purchased to go with them. They weren’t quite 18th century accurate, but they showed off the well-developed muscles of his calves to great effect, making him wonder why such outfits had ever gone out of fashion for men. 

His mask was of the same material as the waistcoat, trimmed around the edges with gold lace and a scattering of red feathers that gave the mask a bit of pleasing flair. The colors and shape showed his eyes off beautifully, especially after Kurt highlighted them with a ring of black eyeliner. He suspected people would take one look (though he had taken the trouble to style his hair differently tonight, soft natural waves instead of the usual sky-high coif) and guess who he was regardless. Everyone he met seemed to comment on the unusual color of his eyes. 

Still, who cared if he maintained an air of mystery or not? He was determined to have a great time tonight. Dabbing on a thin coat of rosy lip gloss, Kurt donned his feather mask and took a selfie in his full length mirror to send home to Dad and Carole, and for later posting to his social media accounts once the big reveal had been completed at the party. Then he put on his long coat and tucked the mask safely away for the duration of the cab ride. An expense he had decided was worth it for the sake of his finery.

The moment Kurt arrived at the reception hall, he was glad he had gone to so much trouble. There were many beautiful and unique costumes on display and his was not the only period piece. It seemed as though a lot of girls had the Cinderella ball gown fantasy, and he happily spotted a couple of gentlemen who would not have looked out of place in a fairy tale, or perhaps a Bronte novel.

Helping himself to a glass of punch, he cruised the edges of the party for a while, taking in the costumes and soaking up the atmosphere. He was happy to finally be attending this event, and now that he was here he was actually grateful that he had not tried to convince Blaine to go last year. Beautiful costumes, classical music being provided by a live chamber orchestra, everyone polite and friendly, but no one obviously attention-seeking. His former fiance would have hated it.

Kurt spotted Madame Tibideaux speaking with Professor Graves over by the orchestra. Both were easily recognizable in their black feathered masks. They were dressed handsomely in what appeared to be matching tuxedos, Carmen’s designed with a full black satin skirt. From the smile gracing her face tonight it appeared that the Dean and the Masters Level acting teacher had come as a pair. How interesting!

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, “May I have this dance?”

He was surprised somehow to see that it was a lady doing the inviting, but who was he to turn down such a polite offer? She was dressed in a beautiful yellow satin gown with wide side-bustles that reminded him irresistibly of Belle from ‘Beauty & the Beast’. He bowed, his partner curtsied, and they moved into a graceful Viennese Waltz. The romantic imagery of the moment thrilled Kurt to his soul and he knew that they were attracting some positive attention just by the way the conversational buzz had suddenly picked up. 

The dance ended with another formal bow, and Kurt could not resist a gallant kiss to the knuckles of his partner’s white-gloved hand. He nearly fell over from shock when a familiar twisted smile suddenly became visible from behind the lady’s large gold butterfly mask and he realized why her green eyes had seemed so familiar. “You’ve learned a thing or two about dancing since you took my class, Hummel. Good to see you here tonight.” Cassandra July laughed, surprising him again. He did not think he’d ever heard her do such a thing before. “Thank you for the dance, but I think I’d better turn you over to your adoring harem now.”

Kurt turned and saw that they were indeed being watched. He recognized Lonnie and Troy from his advanced vocal performance class, and Constantine and Victor from stage combat. All four were staring and smiling, and it was not the beautifully dressed dance instructor they were looking at.

Miss July gave him a little shove between his shoulder blades and went off to mingle. He approached the group and smiled. “Hi, guys. I’m glad you made it tonight. Isn’t this place gorgeous?”

“It is,” Con agreed, eyes sweeping approvingly over Kurt’s slender form, “and you make it even more so.”

Impressed by the gallant compliment, Kurt said, “Would you like to dance?”

The other boys looked gratifyingly disappointed when their friend quickly agreed. He and Kurt kept up a little bit of informal chatter as they danced, but while Constantine was a graceful performer with sword and shield in his hands, he was a bit of a klutz on a dance floor. Kurt began to fear for the fate of his shiny black shoes, and the toes inside of them, before Lonnie came along to save him by cutting in.

He made sure to give each of his friends a dance before moving off to get another drink and a plate from the buffet. For over an hour, he laughed and mingled freely, having the time of his life.

Now and then he recognized a person he knew, but it was fun that many others remained a puzzle. He danced with men and women, young and old, skilled and clumsy. Then, as he was taking a break to cool off and catch his breath out on one of the picturesque stone balconies that surrounded the ballroom, Kurt heard a voice say, “You look wonderful tonight. I’ve been admiring you since the moment you walked in.”

He knew that voice. He had not heard it in nearly two years, but he would have known it anywhere. He spun around, eyes wide. “Adam!”

“Hullo, Kurt,” he replied, smiling sweetly from behind a blue sequined mask. 

As a NYADA alumni Adam had every right to be at tonight’s event, but Kurt had never in a million years expected to see him. He was dressed to the nines in a three piece black suit with a long morning coat over a blue vest that matched his mask. It looked like it might have been made in the early 20th century, as if he had pillaged the closet of the Earl of Grantham from “Downton Abbey”. 

Kurt smiled back at him, thinking that the vintage suit really suited Adam’s quiet, understated style.“It’s really good to see you,” he said honestly. “I wasn’t sure that I’d ever have that chance again.”

“I hoped you wouldn’t mind if I came out and spoke to you,” he said. “I realize that our last meeting didn’t go very well, a fact I’ve regretted ever since. I wanted a chance to tell you that I still think of you fondly, and that I’ve been wishing you well.”

“Oh, me too,” Kurt said, stepping forward and taking his hand impulsively. “I’m sorry things got so awkward between us, and I know that was my fault for not being clearer about my feelings. I wasn’t in a good place emotionally and you paid the price for that. It’s so amazing of you not to hate me.”

Adam ducked his head. “I don’t believe I’m capable of hating you, Kurt. Not even when I rather wished that I could. I should have known that you weren’t ready for a new relationship when you clearly weren’t over the old one yet. I did realize that, once I gave myself a chance to look back on that time with the clarity of distance.”

“I wish I had seen everything more clearly then. We could have had such a wonderful time together,” Kurt said wistfully. “But now it’s too late. You’re probably seeing someone amazing. Or maybe you’re the one who’s engaged now!”

“I’m not,” Adam told him, lips twitching a bit in amusement. “I was seeing a nice fellow for about six months, but ultimately we just didn’t have enough in common. There’ve been odd dates now and again, of course, but nothing I’d care to stake my future on. How about yourself? Forgive me if I’m being insensitive, but may I assume from your lack of escort tonight that things didn’t work out with your old beau?”

“I broke things off a few months ago,” Kurt said, finding for the first time that admitting that to someone didn’t hurt. “We couldn’t find a middle ground between the things I wanted and the things he did.”

Adam hummed. “In other words, you’d grown tired of an 80-20 relationship, where you were always the twenty percent.” At Kurt’s surprised look, he said, “I may have graduated, but that doesn’t mean I quit speaking to all of my friends here.”

“Oh, I never thought of that. It’s a little embarrassing to realize that everyone else could apparently see something that I was completely blind to,” Kurt replied wryly. “I’ve had a surprisingly large number of people congratulate me on losing the albatross around my neck. At first I resented it, but when it kept happening I started to admit to myself just how blind I was.”

A kind look filled Adam’s eyes. “It’s not easy to see things when one is too close to the situation, and nobody wants to believe that someone they love is not good for them.”

Reading between the lines, Kurt said, “I wasn’t good for you, was I?”

Adam considered this. “Perhaps not entirely, but that wasn’t your fault. If I hadn’t let myself build up such a store of dreams and hopes that you unfairly had to live up to, and had let the relationship build on its own things might have turned out differently.”

“Maybe they could this time,” Kurt said. He paused, eyes going wide as words spoken with his heart and not his brain, caught up with him. “I … I mean … I know what it’s like to write someone a mental script and then get confused when it turns out that they haven’t read it. I can hardly hold it against you if you did that to me.”

Adam considered this. “So does that mean you’d like to try another date? Perhaps with a clearer eye this time?”

“I would, if you would. Or is it weird for me to ask you out again? I just thought that since you’re apparently single, and I’m definitely single, and I still really really like you … Um, would coffee, or a movie or something be completely out of the question?”

For a moment Adam looked startled, but then he smiled. That bright, cheerful, heart-tuggingly familiar smile that Kurt had once loved and now realized that he apparently still did. “I don’t think it would. In fact, I think that would be an excellent idea. I’m free all next week in the evenings except for Wednesday night, when I have an acting workshop. I’d love to take you for a coffee. Perhaps start off by catching each other up on where we’ve been and what we’ve done in these past two years.”

“That sounds amazing!” Kurt said happily. “Can I have your number? I’ll double check my schedule to see what nights I’m working, and then I’ll call you.”

Adam’s eyes twinkled. “Great. How about if I trade you my number for a dance?”

Kurt cocked his head. “A dance?”

“It’s a bit chilly out here,” Adam said practically, his observation highlighted by the cold October wind as it blew past them, making both young men shiver. “And they’ve just begun playing my favorite waltz inside. So, may I have this dance?”

“You may,” Kurt agreed, taking his offered arm and allowing himself to be led back inside the ballroom. He stepped into Adam’s arms and they began to glide together as easily as if they had done this a hundred times, though in fact they had never before shared a dance. 

Around and around the floor they moved, lost in the music and the pleasure of being held in each others arms again. There was no awkwardness over who should lead. Adam led the waltz he had invited, then Kurt took over as they segued seamlessly into a foxtrot when the music changed. 

“You do look smashing tonight. That outfit is gorgeous and it really does you justice. Did you create it yourself?” 

Kurt flushed happily. He had forgotten what it felt like to receive an honest and spontaneous compliment. Blaine had never been particularly appreciative of his personal style and appearance. “Yes, thank you. You look great too. I was just thinking that this style really suits you.”

Pleased, Adam said, “I wasn’t quite sure what was appropriate to the Ball. I don’t think I’ve been since my freshman year here, but I felt it would be difficult to go wrong with a formal black suit.”

“True, and your mask is beautiful. Did you make it?”

He touched the edge of the covering a trifle self-consciously. “I did, actually. It’s just a cheap foil mask I picked up at a party store and then glued over with velvet cloth and sequins.”

Kurt was impressed. He would never have guessed that Adam had such decorative skill. “You did a nice job, and that’s coming from someone who’s been making clothing and accessories since he was in middle-school.”

They chatted about random things as they danced. Light subjects that held no risk of breaking the happy mood. Sometimes they did not talk at all, simply swaying to the music and enjoying each others company, but by mutual consent all offers to cut in on them were refused. They danced and danced, like two figures in a romantic fairy tale come to life.

At last, the big grandfather clock in the hallway began to chime midnight, signaling time for the formal unveiling where everyone could reveal their identity to their fellow party-goers. Adam popped the elastic string of his mask forward, working the muscles of his cheeks and nose a bit to shake off the feeling of having the little foil mask sealed to his skin all evening. Kurt pulled the red velvet tie to loosen his own mask, and the two of them smiled at each other, enjoying the opportunity to see each others faces for the first time all night. 

“You’re even handsomer than I remember,” Kurt said softly, taking in the defined planes of Adam’s face. 

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” he replied. “The last couple of years have been very good to you, Kurt.”

He shook his head. “Not all good, but I think I’m in a better place because of them.” He smiled. “What more can anyone ask out of life than that?”

“Perhaps one other thing,” Adam told him. He leaned closer, pausing just a moment to look into Kurt’s eyes for consent. Seeing nothing but welcome, he smiled and pressed his lips gently to Kurt’s.

A small part of Kurt’s brain noted that the clock had sounded the final chime of midnight just as their lips met. With a happy sigh he melted into Adam’s firm embrace. 

His first NYADA Masquerade Ball could not have had a more perfect ending.

THE END


End file.
